In, of and in-between – The Christian “world”

Perhaps I should add a touch more clarification to last week’s post – Death of a Christian magazine.

If “Christian-only” resources are OK, does that mean Christian resources don’t belong with the general mix? No, of course not. In the same sense that secular box stores can carry Christian materials they can stock material from people who are Muslim, Jewish, agnostic or atheist. After all, it is their business. I don’t determine their inventory.

In that same sense, a Christian artist doesn’t have to remain exclusively in the Christian realm. If artists like “Sixpence None the Richer” or “The Fray” wish to seek a greater audience with their music and testimony, PRAISE GOD if they are successful!

Isaac Slade (The Fray) shared that his “job” is to make the best music he possibly can. If it makes someone ask Why? then he can share his testimony.

All that said, the original issue of whether or not there should be “Christian-only” material still strikes me as rather strange. Why not?

God’s Word is for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2nd Timothy 3:16). Christian resource material is (or should be) also intended to help the believer grow towards maturity. Sometimes it is heavy, deep material; sometimes it is light and encouraging.

I used to shudder at Barbara Johnson’s (“The Geranium Lady”) material until someone told me how much it had helped them at a particular point in their life. LRM‘s founder and my mentor, Bob Fenn, told me simply “There is a right book at the right time for the right person.”

If you, whether a believer in Jesus Christ OR as a spiritual seeker, want to find something that will help you in your walk, you should be able to find such a resource. To break it down to the simplest level, if you want to learn to be a better plumber, read plumbing books. If you want to learn to be a better math student, read math books. If you want to learn to be a better Christian, read Christian books.

Don’t live on an island, but don’t refuse to visit one now and again!

Yours in Christ,
Marty

Blessings in back spasms

My back hurts today.

I’m not sure what I did, but it has been modulating between uncomfortable and very painful. It really started yesterday, but today is much worse…

So I’m stuck at my desk. (Yes, I should go home and put on a heating pad…)

BUT I’M BLESSED TO BE HERE!

“Stuck” at my desk has given me a bit of time to actually talk on the phone, read a few things, catch up on email, etc. These are things I’d normally do during the course of a day, but it has just felt different to not be able to get up and touch base on things. (I don’t like asking people to come see me and I need the exercise!)

So anyway – to the point of being blessed…

I received a phone call this morning from a pastor in the southeast. His church had a renewal event in 1972. Yes, 1972. He is relatively new to the church, but he has been amazed to continue to hear and see so many good things about what God did over 25 years ago. He looked up Bob Fenn (our founder) and the ministry on the Internet and we talked for over an hour.

It is such a blessing to hear that God is continuing to produce fruit after so many years! After the day I had yesterday and the back pain today, I really needed to hear it.

May you be blessed today with good news from a friend!

Yours in Christ,

Marty

**And – if no one calls you, maybe you could call someone and bless them!!!

From Turnips to God

Prepare for ping-pong thoughts…

For my birthday last year, I donated blood.

While that may seem like a very strange thing to do, donating blood has long been on my list of things I’d like to do. Why not? It’s not like I really need all of the stuff that is currently flowing around my body. If – through a few minutes of my time – I might be able to help someone else, I’m glad to be able to do so. I’ve donated every 8 weeks now for the last 18 months or so.

However, I don’t qualify for “super-donations” – also know as apheresis.  Somehow, they take the platelets while putting the rest of the stuff back in your body. Unfortunately, for some reason, my blood doesn’t have the right make-up.  

Pretty cool stuff though…

LRM has been working in partnership with over 25 churches on a special survey process (Spiritual Growth and Community Impact Survey). Through this survey, over 400 leaders and 5,000 individuals have the opportunity to measure and assess their levels of outreach and growth.

The wonderful thing about this survey is the ability of the church’s leadership to cut through all the garbage. There is no “he says / she says” attachment. It is a clear cut and direct way to be honest. Then you get to have fun and set some goals to grow forward.

Powerful stuff…

I was reminded this morning of a time when I went into an abandoned ice cream factory with some friends. The cooler area – where we had once enjoyed spending time watching the workers in freezing cold temperatures – was now empty and a bit spooky. While it was exciting for the three of us to be in the empty building, I had a moment of panic at the thought of being stuck inside.

Scary stuff…

As all of these thoughts were ping-ponging around inside my head, another one emerged: “You can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip.”

You see, during all of this rather cool, very powerful and slightly scary statistical analysis, I’ve been both impressed and disappointed. Great spiritual foundations / poor spiritual foundations. Great outreach / poor outreach. Healthy perspectives / unrealistic perspectives.

The big question for each church will be the ever so powerful “SO WHAT?”

If you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip, what can you do with numbers? How can you pull the essence from those numbers and turn it into something that that gives life? How do you take something that appears to have limited use and make it count for something? How do you take a church that is stagnating or a church that is growing and make even better things happen for the glory of God?

First and foremost, the greatest thing of all, is that this is in God’s hands. God will do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. God can take a group of miserable sinners and transform them so that they become a powerful and incredible testimony of His grace and glory.  

So – – – We pray. We seek Godly wisdom. We seek Godly counsel. We pray some more. We get to work.

Bob Fenn told me that his mentor, Fred Smith, used to tell him – God will never do anything for you that you can do for yourself. God will do everything for you that only He can do.

So what? So let’s do it! Let’s take an honest look at who we are, where we are and where we are going. Let’s seek God’s direction for the next step. Let’s do everything we can and not worry about the rest. If it is part of God’s plan, the outcome is already certain. Remember – LIFE was already given through Someone else’s blood.

Yours in Christ,

Marty

Dallas to D. C.

And this was my fear when we started the blog…

It’s been a month since the last posting. Legitimately, I’ve been on the road traveling for the ministry. While I intended to scribble a little while on the road, it didn’t happen. So let’s play catch-up!

I spent a week in Dallas from June 9-13 meeting with pastors at their annual gathering. As always, it is a bit of feast or famine. No one is around and then the flood comes in! As the waves surge around the exhibit, you try to pull in anyone you can from the swell.

Was it a “success?” I don’t know. Sometimes at an event like this, you never know if anyone will respond until weeks, months or even years later. As a Christ follower, there is a level of assurance in that! We need things to be on God’s timetable – not our own. However, in my humanness, I’m still anxious!

The best part of the trip was spending time with our ministry’s founder, Bob Fenn (and his beautiful wife Delores!). We were able to get together a few times both reminiscing and looking forward. Quite frankly, I think it is an encouragement just to be with him. 

[Total aside – Here’s a question for you – Do you have any friends in your life that it is simply a joy to be around? That’s Bob Fenn. If you don’t, maybe you should start praying and being open for a relationship like that?] 

So anyway – I then spent a few hours at home Friday night and Saturday before we hit the road on Sunday morning. That’s right – WE! I was blessed to take my family along on this one. We packed up a rental car and started the drive to D. C.

Although I worked most of the time, it was still nice to be able to be with my family. For me, there is simply a joy in being in the presence of my wife and my children. Whether it is for 5 minutes or 5 hours, I’m blessed to have them and appreciate the gifts God has given me. They are my greatest earthly treasure!

What’s coming up for the ministry? Prayerfully – LOTS!

We launched a promotion offering a survey for free to churches. I don’t want to give a commercial here, but it is an incredible tool that God helped us to develop. It’s offered churches incredible insights for the past 6 or 7 years, so we decided to give it away for a few months. Over 20 churches have registered and we are praying that it will lead to open doors.

That’s it for now. We’ll see if I can post something a little sooner next time around!

Yours in Christ,
Marty